


algorithms to combat loneliness

by SoVeryAverageMe



Series: muses (a hq!! rewatch project) [15]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: (I don't know when exactly in the timeskip this takes place), (Probably not underage in Japan but likely underage by USA laws), Drinking, Found Family, Friendship, Gen, Haikyuu!! Manga Spoilers, Mentioned Hinata Shouyou, Mentioned Kageyama Tobio, S01E15: Revival, during Timeskip
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-18
Updated: 2020-07-18
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:20:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,638
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25353139
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SoVeryAverageMe/pseuds/SoVeryAverageMe
Summary: Every so often Tsukishima, Yachi, and Yamaguchi get a little bit tipsy and end up watching embarrassing compilation videos of Kageyama and Hinata from volleyball fan channels on YouTube.(That’s it. That’s the story.)
Relationships: Tsukishima Kei & Yachi Hitoka & Yamaguchi Tadashi
Series: muses (a hq!! rewatch project) [15]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1592755
Comments: 8
Kudos: 93





	algorithms to combat loneliness

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to a not-so-serious fic with a way-too-serious title. I had a few really great fic ideas that had nice thematic tie-ins for this episode, but then wrote something completely different because I saw fanart of Yachi with a wine glass. 
> 
> Also! There are definitely manga spoilers in this fic (since it happens during the timeskip), but I didn’t go back and fact check any of it and instead, just used what I remembered. So, while there are 100% accurate manga spoilers in this fic, they are mixed in with me making stuff up for everything I didn't remember. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

Tsukishima hung up the phone seconds before the doorbell rang. Shoving it in his back pocket, he opened the door and found Yachi and Yamaguchi standing together. 

“Hello Tsukki!” Yamaguchi gave him a bright smile, not waiting to be invited in to slip off his shoes. “Yachi and I ran into each other at the station and walked here together.” 

“I’m sticking these in the fridge, Kei.” Yachi had already moved into the small kitchenette like she also lived in his apartment. “Would you hand me the wine, Tadashi? It warmed up quite a bit on the way over.” 

“Welcome, I guess.” Tsukishima closed the door and peered over the top of his glasses at his guests. “I’d say make yourselves at home, but it looks like you two already have that covered.” 

“You say that every time, and yet, you still invite us over,” Yachi said, barely containing a smile.

“It’s just that lifelong emotional repression,” Yamaguchi replied, a smirk flung in Tsukishima’s direction.

“And, I think you two are bad influences on each other.” 

“Mhmm… Four and half years too late on that front.” Yamaguchi had poured himself a glass of water and hopped onto the counter, letting his legs dangle down. “Did you already order the pizza?” 

“Right before you got here. I even got that gross seafood special you like,” Tsukishima said, “Still don’t understand how you can stomach the entire ocean on your slice of pizza.” 

“You’re one to talk, Mr. Pineapple on Pizza.” 

“Pineapple on pizza is a new classic. Now, get off my counter.”

Yachi laughed at their antics, taking a seat at the small round table. It was really only meant for two people. Every time they got together, they had to squeeze close to make everything fit, although they had lost many slices of pizza to the errant hands. They also didn’t use breakable plates anymore. 

“Did you get anything that I’d eat?” she asked. 

“Your usual, a small cheese pizza. Sans seafood  _ and  _ pineapple.” Tsukishima leaned on the back of the couch, facing toward the kitchen. “At this point, I’m pretty sure the place knows our order by heart.” 

“It’s not my fault that I’m the only one that likes normal pizza.” She had a thoughtful look on her face. “Although, I don’t think anything will ever top that atrocity that Hinata ordered our third year.” 

“Oh, yeah.” Yamaguchi laughed, hopping off the countertop to sit at the table. “Didn’t he and Kageyama try to ask for every topping that the place had?” 

“I’m honestly surprised they didn’t go into debt trying to buy that monstrosity.” Tsukishima remarked, before being interrupted by the doorbell. “Speaking of pizza.” 

He returned with two boxes in his arms, handing the small one to Yachi. He opened the large pizza and placed it on the counter. 

Yamaguchi jumped up to join him, sliding two slices of the Seafood Delight onto a paper plate. They attempted to make small talk, but most of dinner was spent in comfortable silence while trying to scarf down as much pizza as humanly possible. 

The leftovers were collapsed into one box and put into the fridge to save as a midnight snack. After dinner, Yachi untucked her shirt and undid the top button, trying to get more comfortable. 

“I didn’t have time to change after work. My manager kept me late to redo some of the proofs for next month's issue,” she offered, when she caught Tsukishima giving her a questioning look. 

“Just go steal my sweatshirt, already,” he sighed. “It’s not like Yamaguchi didn’t already rifle through my drawers when I wasn’t looking.” 

“Hey!” he called, sticking his head out of the closet. “I’m down to, like, one pair of nice pants after I got pizza grease on them last time we did this. That shit does not come out.” Yamaguchi shoved a pile of blankets into Tsukishima’s arms. “I’m grabbing drinks. That sweatshirt that you like from high school is in the top drawer.” 

“I’m so glad you got a chance to inventory all of my clothes,” Tsukishima said drily. 

Yachi laughed, making her way toward the bedroom. On her way out she added, “Grab a beer for me, Tadashi!” 

Tsukishima dumped the blankets on the couch and queued up the latest episode of the reality show that they’d been watching together. Yamaguchi put two beers down on the end table and took a sip of wine from the kitschy tourist mug Tsukishima had bought last time he was in Tokyo. The “No Wine Glass” rule had been instituted even earlier than the “No Breakable Tableware” rule, after an overzealous evening watching a reality axe throwing competition. He sat down next to Tsukishima, straddling the crack in the two cushions of the loveseat.

Yachi came padding back into the living room, Tsukishima’s sweatshirt engulfing her small frame. Even rolling the sleeves up, her hands were still caught in sweater paws. She had slipped her skirt off, since the sweatshirt was so long it was  _ almost _ a knee length dress. 

She grabbed her beer from the table before slotting herself onto the end of the sofa, while Yamaguchi shifted closer to Tsukishima to make room. Taking a sip, she pulled her knees underneath her and stretched the sweatshirt over top of them to keep warm.

The three of them settled into comfortable conversation as soon as Tsukishima hit play, sniping and bantering about the actions of the contestants on screen. By the time the episode ended, Yamaguchi’s legs were strewn over Tsukishima’s lap, and Yachi’s entire body leaned against Yamaguchi while his hands played with her hair. 

“Are we up for another episode?” Tsukishima asked, detangling himself to get another round of drinks. 

“Of course not,” Yamaguchi said with mock indignation. “My favorite just got eliminated. I need time to mourn.” 

“To be fair,” Yachi chided, “It was a pretty dumb move to try to forge another player’s signature.” 

Tsukishima handed her a beer and topped up Yamaguchi’s mug, leaving the wine bottle on the end table. He shoved Yamaguchi’s legs into the air in order to claim back his seat, causing him to fall onto Yachi’s lap. She barely managed to get her beer out of the way in time. 

“Hello,” Yachi giggled, looking down at him sprawled on top of her. 

“What a surprise seeing you here.” Both of them collapsed into a laughing fit. 

“Dorks,” Tsukishima couldn’t help but mutter fondly, while he switched from the streaming service to YouTube. 

“Ooohh…” Yamaguchi said, angling his head toward the television. “Is that a new vid from  _ VolleyballOnly360 _ ?” 

“Top 10 Ninja Shouyou Face Receives?” Yachi threw her hands in the air. “Play it. Play it.” Before long Yamaguchi joined the chant too.

He shook his head at them, only conveying fond annoyance, before pressing play. Throwing the remote on the table, he leaned back on the cushions. “I hope they include the one where it bounces off his face and into the sand castle building competition.” 

“No. No. Number one is definitely the one where the receiver on the other team  _ also _ uses their face.” 

“I bet it’s the one where he headbutted the ball for the winning point.” 

It turned out that they were all wrong, and it was actually the one where Hinata blocked the ball by almost dislocating his nose. They were all too lazy to grab the remote, and the next video started to autoplay.

“Highlights from the National Team’s Press Conference?” Tsukishima tilted his head. “Has Kageyama gotten any better at these?” The camera focused on the man in question, who was attempting to smile and explain his strategy for the season with some short of long-winded analogy about fish and demons. 

“He hasn’t gotten worse,” Yamaguchi commented. 

“Look.” Yachi huffed, crossing her arms. “He’s trying, and he’s even using the hand movements we tried to teach him during third year when he had to do all those interviews with scouts.” 

“I think he’s just trying to make up for the fact that he doesn’t have a volleyball to set during press conferences.”

Yamaguchi shoved his hands in between the cushions, digging out his phone to take a photo of the screen. “I’m sticking that in the group chat.” 

“It’s not like he’s going to respond,” Yachi said, burying herself deeper into the couch. “He’s already gone to bed.” 

They continued to let YouTube autoplay, the algorithm showcasing what it thought were the very best volleyball-related videos. These included:  _ Biggest Volleyball Fails _ ,  _ Top 10 Nail Biting Sets _ , and  _ Japan Volleyball Dream Team Fancast (NEW).  _ The videos started to blend into one another, while the three of them teasingly insulted and gossiped about all the players they’d known since high school. 

Next thing he knew, an obnoxiously loud spike hitting the gym floor jolted Tsukishima awake. He stretched his arms above his head and realized that the three of them had fallen asleep at some point, practically on top of each other. YouTube continued to play in the background (currently on  _ Bokuto’s Best Spikes _ ). He reached out and hit the remote with his foot, turning the television off. 

Grabbing a blanket from where it had been squished underneath them, Tsukishima awkwardly threw it across the loveseat. It wasn’t a perfect throw, but it would at least keep them warm enough when combined with each others’ body heat. 

He leaned back, carefully placing his glasses on the floor and making sure not to kick either of his friends. They’d probably regret not setting an alarm in the morning, but for now, Tsukishima didn’t care. He was warm, he was full, and he was surrounded by his best friends.

They hadn’t really meant to make this a tradition, but all three of them would make sure it continued for as long as possible. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I posted this a _little_ bit early, but it's my 4th Haikyuu-versary! I can't believe I've spent four years in this fandom.
> 
> Feel free to check out what I'm up to on other parts of the internet (Currently, I'm almost definitely talking about the hq!! manga on [twitter](https://twitter.com/SoVeryAverageMe) and [tumblr](https://soveryaverageme.tumblr.com/)).


End file.
